An account of the wildlife I come across and hopefully pictures to bring the account closer

Thursday, 26 January 2012

Thursday 26th. January 2012

Spent the day working up on the Common burning off Gorse that had been cut over the last few weeks , left to dry , got soaked by the overnight rain , and produced so much smoke that just clung to the ground . Said clinging smoke obviously got someone worried , as we soon had a visit from the local Fire Brigade , who were ordered to the local town , about a mile away , and then followed their noses to find the source . We burned for the rest of the day , thankfully without any further visits .
As I arrived at the car park first thing , a large flock of Redwings were devouring the berries from a Rowan and a Holly standing side by side . I took two steps from the car towards them , and they were gone . During the afternoon , we did get good views of a female Sparrowhawk , but nothing more exciting .
Best weather of the day was when I returned home this afternoon , with a sinking sun and clear blue skies . The local Jackdaws seemed to enjoy the better conditions too , with 80+ arriving in the tops of

the Lime Trees . I couldn't get them all in the frame together , but managed about 60 in this shot .

The light conditions really showing off their plumage , then something spooked them , and they were gone again .
Back to finish off the hedgelaying tomorrow .